Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene, founders of Sketchbook Skool, have asked me to join their Fakulty to teach an art klass on Storytelling (Oh…Yes, this is the proper spelling of “class” at Sketchbook Skool) among other outstanding artists I’m so proud to join.
If you’ve never heard of Sketchbook Skool, I urge you to have a look at it on their blog. It’s an amazing online video-based art school and global community dedicated to teaching and inspiring people to tell their stories through illustrated journaling.
It’s a fast growing community with more than 5 000 registered students and a fabulous experience every people who like drawing, beginners as experienced artists, should take once in his life.

Among many other things, I gave an online demo in my klass (thru an amazing video shooting) on how to create a cover for a great book. And of course, I decided to draw a Flinflin Album cover.

Surprisingly, though we spend most of our time living in Paris, I never did a Flinflin cover on Paris, until now. Probably because our Parisian life is our daily routine, I suppose. So I decided this course was a great opportunity to craft a special tribute to this enchanted city we never stopped loving.
I did first a quick sketch, trying to elaborate an image that could best figure Paris in everybody’s mind.

Of course, the most representative element of the City of Light is undoubtedly the Eiffel Tower. While it is mostly shown far on the horizon in one full piece, I thought, on the contrary, it would be better to take a closer view to make people realize how gigantic it is.
3 other obvious significant elements should be found: Haussmann buildings with their highly recognizable zinc roofs, a ‘Colonne Morris’, so typical of this city, displaying a poster on the next opera sung by Bianca Castafiore and… Paris traffic jam.
Since we are a large family I decided to show all the Flinflins characters on the rear platform of a bus, rather than in a car, to be sure everyone can be seen. Unfortunately, those platform buses are no longer in service. However, sometimes you can see some of them popping up here and there for a private party, or chartered for tourists.
Oh yes, tourists…! All along the year, lots of tourists are coming to Paris, which makes it the 1st touristic city in the world. They are all nice tourists with the exception of …French tourists, often unsatisfied and grumpy. So what if we showed one of these evil pupils? We all know these evil pupils who are noisy, speak loudly, are always late and make terrible jokes.
This is how Jolyon Wagg (Seraphin Lampion), the absolute archetype of the annoying guy came as a central piece of this drawing.
Let’s assume he was buying one of those horrible Eiffel Towers in a snowy ball, didn’t notice his group has boarded on the bus, and has just left without him. So he’s running after the bus trying to catch him, crossing the road without paying attention to the incoming traffic, causing the Thompson and Thompson to stop abruptly their old Citroën 2CV.
They popped out of their car, expressing what’s in their mind in a typical Parisian gesture.

At the end of the drawing, the facade of the building looked a little empty. So I added Captain Haddock roaring at the window, and a policeman on duty in the left corner because remembering the old Parisian adage that where there is a traffic jam, you should necessarily look for the cop around.

]]>https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/how-i-helped-jolyon-wagg-catch-his-bus-in-front-of-the-eiffel-tower/feed/7flinflinsFlinflins Dame de fer loFlinflins Dame de fer SketchFlinflins Dame de Fer esquisse Grise 001Why search for the Yeti on the Mont-Blanc when he is obviously sitting in front of you ?https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/why-search-for-the-yeti-on-the-mont-blanc-when-he-is-obviously-sitting-in-front-of-you/
https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/why-search-for-the-yeti-on-the-mont-blanc-when-he-is-obviously-sitting-in-front-of-you/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 08:08:43 +0000http://flinflins.wordpress.com/?p=317Continue reading →]]>In one’s life, there are sometimes moments of grace that help you make the right decisions. At that time, Flinflin was working in a company in a total chaos right in the middle of a merger with its main competitor. The atmosphere was oppressive, each management team trying to pull the rug out from the opposite team’s feet.
Each day at the office was an additional torment that undermined even more employee morale.
Feeling how beneficial a deep break would be, one of my brothers took me for a hike in the Mont-Blanc massif.
It was springtime. The weather was resplendent. Snowmelt was beginning and wildlife was just coming out of its hibernation. We inspected almost every footprints left on snowfields, in the hope – who knows – we may discover tracks of the Yeti.
Alas, chamois, marmots and foxes footprints, but no single evidence the Yeti was around. Never mind, these three days of hiking were sublime to wash our minds: for 72 hours we had met real life: physical efforts, meeting warm people, and a majestic Nature.
Back at the office, my boss has just been fired and the guy replacing him told me I had an hour to go the same way.

I didn’t care that much: This trek helped me realizing I was wasting my life in this company.
I took my paycheck, got home, pulled out a sheet of paper and designed this cover in 2 days. As Tintin, who parted overseas seeking for the Treasury of Red Rackham while it was almost under his nose, I went in the Mont-Blanc hunting for the Yeti I have been hunging around for several months !

I am lucky guy because I grew up in a land of freedom, a country where men decided to free themselves in 1789 with the French Revolution and chose to write the Human Rights declaration.
However when I was a young kid, it was still a country with some degree of censorship and restricted rights for women. There was a public organization whose job was to watch over youth publication and apply censorship if needed. And a newspaper could be shut down or a TV show canceled on a single call from the Ministry of Information ;
And at that time, women who wanted to apply for a job, still needed to get a written authorization from their husband.

There were very few TV programs for kids, except on Thursday, the day off at school.
Comics were our primary home entertainment, with 3 main magazines ‘Le Journal de Tintin’, ‘Spirou’ and’ Pilote’ with its emblematic character, Asterix le Gaulois, who featured exactly French spirit: a nation divided in as many opinions than citizens, but able to talk with a single voice when it needs to.

In Pilote weekly magazine, there was another character we all loved. Le Grand Duduche created by Cabu was a lazy irreverent high school student… like us. He used to wear jeans and basketball shoes. Like us ! He also had long hairs. Like us ! He was an antimilitarist, like us and any youngster in the 70’s. And he hated overall human stupidity combined with vulgarity from people full of certainty that always hit you with their truth.
In the 70’s, underground magazines were also banned (well I suppose they wouldn’t be called underground otherwise). So, we used to go directly at one of the author’s home, to secretly buy ‘sous la couverture’ L’Echo des Savanes, the first comic magazine for adults, who exuded its toilet humor. Not that we loved toilet humor, but since these magazines were forbidden, this type of humor had the taste of freedom for us.

At that time Hara Kiri, the predecessor to Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine, which prided himself to be ‘bête et méchant’ (stupid and bad), was shut down for its irreverent cover (‘Bal tragique à Colombey’) when General de Gaulle died. But the whole staff of the satirical newspaper decided it should be born again, under the name “Charlie Hebdo”, in a ironic reference to the General.
This weekly newspaper used to blast every form of order, among which 3 main pillars as favorite targets: Justice, Religion and Republican order (Soldiers, cops, etc..). Cabu specially loved to ridicule the army with his main character ‘Adjutant Kronenbourg’ in reference to the (awful) beer that was served in the bars of every military camp.
So, I used to smuggle Charlie in the barracks of the regiment I have been sent to, on military service, to give myself a touch of rebel.
Later on, Le Grand Duduche progressively became more a pacifist than an antimilitarist guy and turned out to be a poetic ecologist. Above all it became obvious he was a never grown-up teenager, which was one more reason for me to love him.

Little by little, after years of battle the very last remaining of censorship were banned…and Charlie Hebdo came back to a more confidential circulation, though it never gave up its satirical spirit, pointing out and blasting every dysfunction of our modern world, like a king’s fool.

All these memories were brought to the surface with the terrible terrorist attack. Like millions of citizen of this country, French people I was knocked to see one could be shot for having tried to make laugh people with a pencil and a paper. I was unable to draw for a few days, loosing all sense of humor.
I realized behind the lost of friends and companions that filled my life with instants of joy, the freedom our generation and generations before have fought for was at stake: freedom of thoughts, freedom of expression, women rights…modern civilization!

Little by little I realized, I needed to exorcise this savagery with the comics Characters of my childhood, and started drawing Tintin, Spirou, Asterix, mourning their friend Le Grand Duduche, to claim with them ‘Je Suis Charlie.’
Then I put my pen on my desk and decided to move along.

So, I did not listen to those who told me not to mobilize for this weekly rag.
I did not listen to those who did not want to march with the National Front, or those who refused to do so with the “Red Leftists”.
I did not listen to right-thinking intellectuals, for whom the very idea of this gathering would be against Charlie’s spirit.
I refused to hear cowards advising me to avoid a dangerous place which would be a perfect target for terrorists.

No, I went walking simply because I was Charlie.
Not that I am a very avid reader: I bought it less often than I should have and they often irritated me more than they made me laugh.

No, I went walking to tell my commitment Republic key values, more specifically freedom of expression, the foundation of our democracy.
I went walking to share the sorrow of families of the victims, to express my rejection of violence and claim the terrorists I was not afraid… we all were not afraid !
I went walking to testify with 4 million people that the poison of hatred and division would not grow in France.

I went walking silently with fervor with a worthy crowd to claim to the world that nothing could ever destabilize this country because what unites it is stronger than what may divide it.
I hugged an old “harki” (muslim vet in the french army) with wet eyes, thanking him for being there. I helped my neighbor to hold up a sign ‘Je suis Hyper Casher’ (‘I am Hyper Kosher’). I met one or two famous people who came anonymously and some coquettish girls, with a pencil proudly planted in the bun. I saw, for the first time, what Freemasons in uniform looked like. I applauded police squads with the crowd. I met friends of the victims in tears and I even found a Charlie (Waldo in french) with his red hat and his striped sweater.

Today Je suis Charlie and I hope I have written a new page of France history with millions of people of good will.

# JeSuisCharlie

]]>https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/comics-heroes-tintin-spirou-and-asterix-je-suis-charlie/feed/8flinflinsJe Suis Charlie JCD lightGood resolutions for 2015https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/good-resolutions-for-2015/
https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/good-resolutions-for-2015/#commentsThu, 01 Jan 2015 12:29:21 +0000http://flinflins.wordpress.com/?p=305Continue reading →]]>The good thing with the rise of a new year is that you can stop for a while reviewing the past year and even take resolutions for the future. Looking in the rearview mirror, I must admit I haven’t posted much on this blog, although the year has been intense on the drawing field with the start of my ‘Storytelling’ class on Sketchbook Skool, the new online drawing university which gathererd several thousand students and a great travel sketchbook on our trip in Norway, I am still working on.

So I kinda neglected this Flinflins blog. But the good news is I firmly intend to make up for lost time in 2015 and finalize the stock of unfinished Flinflins covers that are sleeping in my portfolio. Future will tell if I stick to my 2015 resolution.
Happy new Year !
To be continued ….

You already draw but you’re missing a stimulating environment? Or, may be you stopped drawing as a very young child, when you began to fear others’ judgment? There is a brand good news: you can now draw alone at home, at your own pace in a vibrant online community, whether you are a beginner or an experienced sketcher thanks to SketchBook Skool, the online University’s drawing founded by Danny Gregory and Koosje Koene. I will be hosting a class on “Storytelling” with other great artists. And the Flinflins will join the party of course !It starts on October 4. Don’t miss it: interactivity is incredible and emulation amazing!See you then, maybe ?

]]>https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/09/09/sketchbook-skool-storytelling-with-the-flinflins-coming-soon/feed/1flinflinsFlinflin Sketchbook SkoolIs Ranko the Gorilla, Mont St Michel’s gate keeper ?https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/is-ranko-the-gorilla-mont-st-michels-gate-keeper/
https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/is-ranko-the-gorilla-mont-st-michels-gate-keeper/#commentsFri, 05 Sep 2014 21:26:01 +0000http://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/09/05/is-ranko-the-gorilla-mont-st-michels-gate-keeper/Continue reading →]]>The Flinflins love islands. All islands. May be because they are fascinated by their famous cousin’ s incredible adventures in so many of them: the Black island in Scotland, a small volcanic Indonesian Island in Flight 714 for Sydney, the lovely and exotic treasure Island in Red Rackham’s Treasure or even the ephemeral island in the artic ocean with the floating asteroid of the Shooting Star.

But when it comes to Island, Mont St Michel is king. Except Mont St Michel is no longer an island. ☹ You need to drive first on a long concrete dam and park your car in an awful parking lot filled with tourists’ buses.The beauty of drawing is that you can make your own storytelling and decide to flood those horrible infrastructures under the high tide.So, on a holiday trip in the Channel Islands, the Flinflins decided to take a detour to the Mount by a gorgeous twilight autumn evening.The shops were closed and tourists were gone. The Mount was almost deserted. We took a walk alone on the ramparts. Suddenly, by the old Northern tower, dreadful footsteps echoed on the pavement with terrifying sounds of steel chain. We feared for a while to meet face to face with Ranko, the giant gorilla of the Black Island. Thanks god this was only the Abbot closing the old gate of the Abbey.

Since then, development works have been made to give back its insular character to the Mount.We definitely need to go back there. May be we’ll be lucky enough to see the high tide circling the Mount St Michel, and who knows, we may even meet this time, with Ranko the Gorilla !

A year ago, the Flinflins toured in Normandy and visited the Landing beaches. The whole area and the museums were so impressive that the Flinflin tribe unanimously voted to add a new Flinflin cover to the saga.
A gorgeous Jeep Willy’s spotted in the lovely small museum of Arromanches would play the leading role and the wide beach of Omaha would provide the scenery. But this immediately brought a critical question. What would have done Tintin in such circumstances ? Nothing is told about this in Tintin stories, since during WWII, Herge carefully avoided every reference to the conflict. He choose to send his heroes far away on the ocean and then in Latin America to avoid any potential censorship in an occupied Belgium. I have formerly written a few words about the creative process of this cover. But what is really interesting is that, as elements were added to the sketch, the story came out of the shadow little by little.
Given Tintin’s character, no doubt, he would have been on the resistant’s side. Haddock would have commandeered the Karaboudjan to join the Free French Forces in England while Allan would obviously escape to rally the evil empire of Pleksy Gladz.
Szut, the esthonian aircraft pilot would have volunteered to enroll in the Russian Air Force and would be dispatched in Normandy with a support squadron.
While Professor Calculus, deaf as a post would seem indifferent to what happens. As ever….
What’s interesting is that hough I thought the drawing was finished, I did not inked it right away and the drawing stayed unachieved in my cardboard for quite a while. I think my subconcious was telling me something important was missing.

It is only 9 months later that I realized the drawing was missing a crucial piece. Colonel Sponz was obviously commanding the occupying forces of Plezsy-Gladz in this area. About to be defeated, he was escaping once more. No doubt we’ll meet him again.
The minute I added it, the cover was done.

It is only 9 months later that I suddenly realized I had obviously forgotten Colonel Sponz. Defeated commander of the occupation forces of Plezsy-Gladz in this area, he was once again on the verge of escaping. No doubt we will meet him again soon.
The minute I added him, the coverage was done!
The drama was finally completed.

]]>https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/06/03/what-if-tintin-were-part-of-the-great-landing/feed/3flinflinsImageMy Arumbaya fetish for Danny’s Gregory Sketchbook Skoolhttps://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/my-arumbaya-fetish-for-dannys-gregory-sketchbook-skoo/
https://flinflins.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/my-arumbaya-fetish-for-dannys-gregory-sketchbook-skoo/#respondFri, 11 Apr 2014 20:41:49 +0000http://flinflins.wordpress.com/?p=283Continue reading →]]>I have been honored when Danny Gregory offered me to participate in his book an ‘Illustrated journal’. Now, he has just started with Koosje Koene a new fun venture, Sketchbook Skool. In a nutshell, Sketchbook Skool is an online initiative to share with people how keeping an illustrated journal can rock your world !

I decided to join it as a student because because of Danny’s incredible creativity. He has truly original ideas, some of which are sometimes really, really counterintuitive, like getting rid of the pen or applying gouache to shape your model before even drawing it.
It seemed so absurd that I obviously rushed to give it a try !
As you know, since i’m a great fan of Tintin, i took the famous Arumbaya fetish of “The broken Ear” that i have carved 15 years ago in an old oak beam – my only attempt to sculpture – and tried to apply gouache directly on the paper on the and then, draw the fetish with a tip pen.
It gave me a very exciting feeling to go drawing without a pencil. Also, the last time i practiced gouache, i still was a kid. So using it again was a very pleasant experience bringing back youth souvenirs. Some kind of a Proust madeleine.
And the final result turned to be a very different drawing.